The hawkish Tikva Forum, which represents a group of hostage families and relatives of fallen soldiers, says that it is “concerned” about the imminent hostage release-ceasefire deal that Israel and Hamas have agreed to, and which will come into effect on Sunday.
The group warns that the agreed-upon deal, which will see the hostages released in phases, will “effectively leave dozens of kidnapped people behind and pave the way for the next massacre and more hostages.”
“We are excited, like the entire Israeli people, when we see the hostages returning home after a long and cruel captivity,” the forum says but warns that “this deal is dangerous, both for the hostages who will remain in captivity and for the entire Israeli people.”
The forum appeals for cabinet members to “consider those who will be left behind, those who will not return, and those who will be killed in future terror attacks” before voting to approve the deal’s framework tomorrow morning.
“We will not stop or remain silent until we ensure the return of all the hostages, the safety of Israeli citizens and the IDF soldiers, who may pay the most terrible price of all,” it adds, urging government members to resign in protest of the deal.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich comes out against the ceasefire and hostage release deal announced this evening, declaring it a “bad and dangerous deal for the national security of the State of Israel.”
“Along with the great joy and excitement of the return of each and every kidnapped person, the deal reverses many of the achievements of the war” bought at the cost of Israeli blood, he declares.
“We will not be silent. The voices of our brothers’ blood cry out to us,” Smotrich, who heads the far-right Religious Zionism party, continues, laying out an ultimatum for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“A clear condition for us to remain in the government is the absolute certainty of returning to the war” at “full scale” until “complete victory,” meaning the “destruction of the Hamas terrorist organization and the return of all the hostages to their homes,” he says.
“Over the past two days, the prime minister and I have been conducting hectic talks on the matter. He knows what the detailed demands of Religious Zionism are and the ball is in his hands.”
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